Rail-joint.



J. F. WESSEL.

BAIL JOINT. AIPLIOATION I'ILED JULY 31', 1909.

955,028. Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

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I joint at one side of the center thereof.

culiar shape adapted JOSEPH F. WESSEL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

RAIL-J OIN T.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

Application filed July 31, 1909. Serial No. 510,523.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. WESSEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail joints and has for its object to produce a rail joint in which the rail endsare coupled together by a connector constituting a chair of peto embrace and receive the adjacent ends of two rail sections, the said chair also embodying a head which forms a complemental section of the heads of the rails, the said chai'r also embodying bracing webs at opposite sides thereof and located in direct line with the meeting extremities of the head sections of the rails and t chair.

WVith the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure l is a side elevation of the improved rail joint. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one end of the chair or connector. Fig. 3 is a similar view of one end of the rail. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section taken through the Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 designate a pair of rail ends of which one is shown in detail in Fig. 3, wherein it will be observed that the end of the rail resembles the ordinary form of railway rail with the exception that the head 3 of the rail is cut away midway above the web 4 so that the pro ecting end of the rail embodies only the web 4 and the base 5, as shown in Fig. 8.

The chair or connector embodies a head 6 and web 7 and a hollowed base 8, the cavity 9 in the base 8 being of a suitable size to snugly receive the web and base of the adjacent rail end as will be clearly understood by a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3, in connection with Fig. 4. The head 6 is considerably shorter than the web 7 and base 8, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and in line with the opposite extremities of the head 6 the chair or connector is provided with oppositely arranged brace webs 10. These bracing webs, therefore, occur directly beneath and in vertical line with the meeting extremities of the head 6 and the head 3 of the rail sections while the extended portions of the web 7 embrace the web 4 beneath the heads 8 and the extremities of the rail ends meet on the central vertical division line 11, as shown in Fig. 1.

The joint above described will be found reliable and it will also be noted that the joint described does away with the use of bolts, nuts and also fasteners while admitting of the necessary expansion and contraction of the railway rails.

I claim In a rail joint, rail ends having portions of the heads thereof cut away, and a chair or connector embodying a hollow base and a hollow web adapted to receive the base and web portions of the rail ends, the chair also comprising a head adapted to fit endwise between the heads of the rail ends, and brace webs connecting the web and base portions of the chair and located directly beneath and in line with the meeting extremities of the heads of the rail ends and chair, and at both sides of the chair substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH F. WESSEL.

my signature Witnesses:

F. R. lVYA'rr, CHAS. J. Rome. 

